Apparatus for delivering and receiving mail-bags.



G. DELLIS. APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING AND RECEIVING MAIL BAGS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 29, 1908.

Patented Jan. 12, 1909.

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I c." DELLIS. APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING AND RECEIVING MAIL BAGS. APPLICATION FILED MAY 29, 1908.

909,37L Patented Jan. 12, 1909.

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APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING AND RECEIVING MAIL-BAGS.

Application filed. May 29, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CnARLEs DELLrs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Plano, in the county of Kendall and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Apparatus for Delivering and Receiving Mail- Bags, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for delivering and receiving mail bags and is designed for use upon mail cars and at way stations so that an interchange of mail can be effected without necessitating the stopping of the cars.

The principal object of the invention is to provide'simple means whereby a bag can be suspended beyond the cars and automatically released at a predetermined point, the mechanism being such as to prevent injurious jarring of the parts as a result of their impact.

A further object is to provide means for receiving the released sack so as to prevent it from being drawn under the wheels of the car.

A still further object is to provide simple and efficient means upon the car for engaging a sack supported adjacent the track so that said sack can be delivered to a car.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings is shown the preferred form of the invention.

In said drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus the sacks being shown by dotted lines, the parts being illustrated in a position assumed immediately subsequent to the release of the sack carried by the car. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus, part of the car being shown in section. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the bag gripping device carried by the car. Fig. 4 is a plan view thereof.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, A designates a car body and adj acent the opening a therein are arranged brackets 1, 1 in which are pivotally mounted pintles 2 extending downwardly from the ends of a fork 3 located at one end of an arm 4. A spring 5 is attached to this arm adjacent the fork and extends across the door opening and is secured to the car body adjacent the other side of said opening as shown at 6. This arm has a forwardly extending Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. Jan. 12, 1909.

Serial No. 435,785.

substantially U-shaped bracket 7 connected to it close to the fork and extending toward the free end of the arm 4, one end of said bracket being inturned toward and spaced from the arm 4 and constituting a bearing for a lever 3 A spring 9 is interposed between bracket 7 and one end of the lever 8 and serves to hold the other end of said lever normally pressed forward away from the arm 4. This lever constitutes a yielding bag on gaging device as hereinafter set forth.

Secured to and extending downward from the outer or free end. of arm 4 is a fixed jaw 10, the lower end of which is recessed as indicated at 11 and designed to receive the lower end of an arcuate pivoted jaw 12 which is mounted to swing upon the arm 4 and has an upstanding substantially circular extension or trip 13 movable therewith. A spring 14 connects the two jaws and serves to hold the end of jaw 12 normally seated within the notch 11 as indicated in Fig. 3. The lower portion of jaw 12 is designed to engage the ring 15 of a mail sack or bag 16 as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3.

The apparatus employed for receiving mail from a moving car and for delivering sacks thereto consists of a crane B preferably made up of parallel standards 17 and 18 connected by suitable braces 19. Standard 17 has an arm 20 extending from the upper portion thereof and toward the car track and an actuating plate 21 is suspended from this arm and mounted to swing relatively thereto, said plate being positioned in the path of the extension or trip 13 hereinbefore referred to. Another arm 22 also extends from the standard 17 and constitutes a support for the upper portion of an inclined trough 23 open at the top for the greater portion of its length but preferably closed adjacent the bottom thereof, the closure 24 being provided with an upstanding flange 25 at its upper end constituting means for deflecting a dropped mail sack into the trough should any such deflecting means be necessary.

Standard 18 is provided adjacent its upper end with an arm 26 mounted to swing horizontally and provided at its free end with a finger 27 disposed to engage the upper ring of a mail bag or sack 28, shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1. A sleeve 29 is mounted to partly rotate upon the standard 18 and is limited in this movement by means of a pin 30 extending into a slot 31 within said sleeve. Ears 32 extend from the sleeve and constitute supports for a stem 32 extending at right angles from an arm 34. This arm has a finger 35 at its free end for engaging the lower ring of the bag or sack 28. Stem 33 can be adjusted vertically within the ears 32 so as to permit the arm 34 to be raised or lowered to engage sacks of different lengths.

When it is desired to use the apparatus herein described sack 28 is suspended from finger 27 and the lower ring thereof is engaged by the finger 35, after which the two arms 26 and 3 1 are swung toward, and into position at right angles to the track. The sack 16 to be delivered from the car is placed with its ring 15 upon jaw 12 after which arm 4 is swung outward substantially at right angles to the car, the spring 5 being of such length as to permit the arm to assume and stay in this position. When the car reaches the station at which the interchange of mail is to be effected the extension or trip 13 strikes the plate 21 and the force of the impact is sufiicient to swing aw 1.2 against the stress of spring 1 1 so as to thus release the ring 15 and permit the suspended sack 16 to drop into the trough 23. Immediately subsequent to this operation the lever 8 is brought into contact with the middle portion of the suspended sack 16 and said sack is thus pulled from the fingers 27 and 35 and permitted to loop upon the lever 8 and arm 4. Spring 9 will act as a cushion so as to partly reduce the force of the impact be tween the lever 8 and sack 16, and spring 5 will also yield so that the force of the impact will be further reduced, As soon as the interchange above described has been efiected the spring 5 which is more or less tensioned by the impact of the parts against the sack 16 will return to normal position and tend to swing arm 1 inwardly toward the door opening 8 Where it can be conveniently grasped and the sack lifted into the car.

It is of course to be understood that, if preferred, the trough 23 can be dispensed with, although this is particularly desirable in some localities where it can be used as a means for conveying the delivered sack directly into the postoilice. It will be noted that all of the cooperating parts of the apparatus yield so that injury to the parts resulting from their sudden contact is reduced to the minimum.

'What is claimed is:

1. The combination with an oscillating actuating plate; of a movably supported arm, a fixed jaw thereon, a spring controlled movable jaw cooperating with the fixed jaw for engaging and supporting a sack, and a trip upstanding from and movable with said movable jaw and movable against the actuating plate.

2. The combination with a movable structure; of a swinging arm outstanding therefrom, a relatively fixed jaw depending therefrom, a spring controlled movable jaw cooperating therewith, a trip extending from the movable jaw, and an oscillating actuating plate in the path of the trip.

3. The combination with a movable structure, and an arm mounted to swing thereon of a spring controlled bag engaging lever connected to and disposed in front of the arm, said lever constituting an impact reducing device.

1. The combination with a movable struc- 6. The combination with a'r'novable s'truc ture, an arm outstanding therefrom, a pivoted bag supporting jaw carried by the arm, and a trip movable with said jaw; of a bag supporting arm supported aboveand-bel'ow the path of the first mentionedarms and mounted to swing horizontally, and an actuating plate ivotally supported adjacent said arm norma y in the path of and disposed to shift the trip.

7. The combination with a movable structure, an arm outstanding therefrom, a movable bag sup orting jaw upon the arm, and a trip carrie' by the'jaw; of a trough, a pivoted actuating device normally suspended in the path of the trip and above the trough.

8. The combination with a movable structure, an arm outstanding therefrom, a movable bag supporting jaw upon the arm, and a trip carried by the aw, of a trough, a pivoted actuating device normally suspended in the path of the trip and above the trough, and a deflecting device extending above the trough.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES DELLIS.

Witnesses:

WALLACE PARKER, J. B. R-ronwmn; 

